On February 9^th, we welcomed 18 CPA firms to campus. These included the biggest firms in the world, in Minnesota, and in our local community.

The event started with panel sessions in Simons Hall, where one rep from each firm talked about what it is like to work in public accounting, before breaking into small groups for individual or small group meetings with students.

After this session, we moved to the Great Hall for a networking fair type of event. Dozens of reps, many of whom are alums, met with more than 100 students in an environment with a free exchange of ideas. Each time a student visited a firm, they got a sticker on a bingo card that gave them a chance at a drawing for cool prizes donated by the firms. Prizes included backpacks, gift cards, and Bluetooth speakers.

Students mingling with the firms in the gorgeous Great Hall.

Although juniors and seniors were welcome at the event, most of them already had internships and jobs lined up, so the event was focused on first-year and sophomore students.

First-year students were able to learn about what life would be like as a CPA and what they should do to position themselves for interviews next year.

Sophomore students were able to fine-tune their questions and learn how to best present themselves for interviews, which will be happening later this month. In these interviews, our sophomore students will be locking up internships for after their junior years. The going rate for these internships is $31 per hour, with a signing bonus of $3,500! These internships generally culminate with post-graduation job offers from the firms.

Two students even visited all 18 firms! One of those was first year student Wyatt Robertson, who said: “It was nice getting to make connections. The fair felt inclusive—the firms were interested in talking with me and offered great advice!”

Events like these are part of what makes the Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s Accounting and Finance Department one of the premier programs in the state!